How to Live with Nature

Select a rural area in which to live permanently or to visit during needed breaks and vacations. For example, living on the outskirts of a small town gives you the best of both modern convenience and the ability to maintain a self-sufficient existence with nature. Depending on the conditions of this location you may either establish a permanent residence or simply use your camping gear to relax temporarily.

Keep a variety of nature and wilderness guides in your possession to aide in your ability to use nature's available resources. For example there are wilderness guides that identify edible plants and mushrooms as well as guides for learning how to make use of this information. Reliable guides include "The Naturalist's Guide to Observing Nature" and "The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits and Nuts."

Start a beneficial garden if you are living rurally. Using the nature guides, you can choose native edible plants to grow in your landscape environment. This not only provides you with organic nourishment but gives you the hands-on experience to identify particular edible plants when spotted in the wild. Once you have witnessed the growth cycles and identification of a plant, it will be easy to spot while foraging in the wilderness.

Use your nature and wilderness guides to explore your surroundings while in the wilderness. These guides help educate and train you efficiently in using foraging equipment to collect kindling, firewood, berries, herbs, mushrooms and other natural materials for living a self-sufficient lifestyle with nature.

Make your own cisterns using clean, plastic barrels for collecting rainwater. This uses what nature provides for watering your garden area. It also helps you conserve your own water usage.